Traction-wheel.



S. M. BOWER.

TRAUTION WHEEL.

APPLICATION FILED JUNI: s, 1910.

Patented Jan. 31, 1911.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

Mms @U18 :1MM a@ S. M. BOWBR.

TRAGTION WHEEL.

983,023 APPLICATION FILED JUNE 6, 1910.

3 SHEBTS-8HHET 2.

W mferytor 1. nefs@ game! dBm/ef: -i L2 S. M. BOWER. TRAGTION WHEEL. APPLIoAfrIoN FILED Jmme, 1910.

Patented Jan. 31, 1911.`

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

UNITED STATES SAMUEL M. B OWEB., F CIGAGO, ILLINOIS.

inMotion-WHEEL.

Applica/named :une e, i910. serial No. 565,246,

Specicati'on of Letters Patent. l Patented Jalf, 31,

i To all-.whom it may' concern:

"Beit known that I, SAMUEL M. Bownii, a

citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, inthecounty of Cook vand State ot Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in vTracation-Wheels, oi which the following isa specification.

My invention relates to improvements in.

traction .wlieels'and .more particularly to traction Wheels comprising tread feet inount.

edupon ya rim in conjunction with vbridge members, interposed 4between the teef. and

rim, to carry the weight applied to the rim from foot to foot as the feet are successively emplaced upon the ground.

Many advantages a're attained in structures embodying/my ifnventiomas -will be apparent to those skilled in the art 'from the following description of a practical ein; bodiment of the invention, but among the special objects of lthe invention are to 'provide novel inter-relations and connections between the elements of the. wheel which are simple, and highly elicient, .and which enlia-nce the practicability of structures of the general character described. I

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a .plan development with section, showing the relation between a few Lfeet and the rim structure; Fig. 2j isa side elevation loit a fragment of a wheel, embodying my invention; Fig. 3 isa transverse section on line 3 3 of Fig. 2; Fig. 4 is a transverse section on line 4 -4 of Fig, 2; Fig. is an enlarged transverse section of a fragment the rim, showing two of the feet; and

1g. 6 is an enlarged plan detail with parts 'in section of fragments of afoot and bridge.

In the drawings, 10-10 indicate,` in gen-' eral, two parallel rim annuli, forming mein- ,bers of a skeleton rim, each such annulus, in

the specific forni shown, comprising a flat rim-band, 11, and a narrower tread ring, 1'2. secured to the band near the inner edge .of the latter as by rivets, 13. The annuli,

1.0-10, are cross-connected by straps'," 1e,"1

preferably` on the transverse lines offwtlie foot centers.lv The spokes, 15, are suitably secured to the rim annnli, 10e-10", and, of

course, converge-'to al suitable "hub,` not shown. i

16 indicates, in` general, each foot, of suit- 4able dished shapein` bottom presentation,

each foot being provided on its upper suyyface with a pair of short central bosses",f17,

weight of the wheel/is directly imposed upon the foot, and being provided'urt-lier with parallel. longitudinal guide members, 1S,"

vpreferably braces by transverse webs, 19,

f and arranged to pass pist inside of the sepa- ,rated 'rimannuli of the skeleton riin,t`o prevent turning of thefeet onthe rimor lat# eral displacement of the :feetrelative.to` the rim. y

To accommodate the straps, 14, the guide to receive the tread rings, 12-42, when' the TENT' oFFIcE.

. v i y members, 18, are separated or spaced as at l 20, and each foot may b'e loosely connected with the corresponding strap. 14,' to limit f the outward movement of the `)footfrom ythe rim. To this end, I profvidea transierse yoke, 2K1, connected to theEfoot-centially of itslengtli, spanning the spa'cebetween the guides, 18, and paralleling "the foot, said yokes being apertuied, as at 2l', in register vwith similar apertures, H, inf-thestraps, 14f

the traction s trainjfrom the rim .to i.

I provide bridge memb'ers,"j25, for'i'n'tefpo: y.

sition between, the feet and rim. Each bridge member, in the specific construction shown, isa channel bar, 26, haring its base or bottom portion of thickness equal to` the height ofthe lugs, L7.4 Specifically, Ifprefer yto providesuch a construction by employing commercial channel bars, and "placing inthe bottom of the channel a shoe', 27,- to give, requisite thickness to the;A structure. Each bridge member 25 is `of length to s an the space between and substantially a ut against the bosses, 17, of contiguous feet when the latter are emplaced in longitudinal ,alinement in substantial contactwith each other, and each bridge is preferably s'o constructed that, when so disposed hori- Zontallv on two contiguous emplaced feet,

it effects a lock with each foot to prevent vfore-and-.aft movement between the parts'to any substantial degree. To this end, I' prof vide upon the exteriorof each. bridge mein# ber,L upon the inner sideV thereof, that isk to* 2 I Y e .983,023

purposes, but the specific arrangement de-' scribed is advantageous for the guiding relation between parts 21 and 30.

Each bridge may be restrained against undue outward movementrelative to the rim .by a hook, 33, secured to its inner exterior surface about the middle ofits length and extending up and over the rim band, 11, in suitable fashion to limitthe outward movement of the bridge from the rim to that which its function requires.

To. communicate traction strain from the rim to the bridges, I effect link connection between each bridge and the rim, and itwill be particularly noted that the connection which I employ is such that practically no relative sliding or lost motion of the jointed parts is required. Specifically, 404-40 indicate links, each of effective len h substantially equal to the base-length o the bridge members, at one end connected to the end of awbridgermember as close t0 the extremity ,thereof as practice will permit and each .link vat. its other end pivotally connected with the rim adjacent the free remote end of the bridge, or, otherwise stated, in alinement with the adjoining foot center. Specicall each link, 40, has one end articulated or pivotal movement only Withthe bridge,`the outer side rail of the bridge being preferably bent outwardly into U-form to provide loop 28, to support at both ends a pivot, 29, receiving one extremity of the link 40, and the opposite extremity of the link 40 being pivoted as at 41 in a bracket, 42, riveted to the overhanging portion 'of the rim band, 11. In the specific construction shown, the arrangement is such; that such a bracket, 42, is provided only in register with the center of every second foot, two oppositely extending links 40 being pivotally supported by each bracket,and correspondingly vthe contiguous ends of each pair of adjacent bridges being either both articulated or both free, such construction making for cheapness and facility in manufacture of the devices. That the length of the link l40 between centers may approximate the when two foot members are emplaced in end-to-end alinement, both in contact with the ground, and with the wheel Weight on the bridge, said bridge member, Spanning the space between the emplaced feet, locks both ot' the latter against relative movement, through its end bearing against lugs 17-17, and the locking connection of its parts, 30-30, with the rigid guides, 1S-18, of the feet, the shoe 27 Within the bridge affording -a bearing surface on which the tread ring, 12, of the rim may roll from foot to foot. The arrangement of the pivotal centers of the link 40 at a radial distance from the center of' the Y Wheel slightly greater than the radius of the rim rings, 12,'makes each link of a length substantially' equal to the travel of the rim between the radial line of the link centers, so that substantially no lost motion need be provided in the connections of the links at either end to enable them to accommodate themselves to the motions ofthe bridge members occasioned by the rocking ofthe feet and the progress of the rim. ATAs the foot rises from the ground, as shownin F ig. 5, the bridge is carried upward, its position being determined partly by the hook, 33, and partly by the position of the connected link and the contiguous lifted foot.- But it will be obvious that under all conditions the interconnected parts will stand ready to resume their operative relations as the feet are successively called into play to support the rim.

While I have herein described in some detail a particular embodiment of my invention for 'purposes of full disclosure, and some details of which I v.may hereafter claim for their s ecial benefits, it-.will be apparent to those s illed in the art that numerous changes in the details of construction might be made without departure from the spirit of my invention and within the scope of the appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. In a traction wheel, -a rim structure, tread feet therefor. bridge members interposed between the rim and feet for spanning adjacent feet, and links, eachVv substantially as long as a bridge member, each articulated for pivotal motion alone at one end with a contiguous bridge member and at its opposite extremity-with the rim.

2. In a traction Wheel, the combination of a rim structure, tread feet therefor, bridges arranged between the feet and rim to span adjacent feet, from points near the mid pordistance from the bridge center, and at the other end articulated with the rim at a substantial distance to the opposite-side of-the bridge center.

4t. In a traction wheel, the combination of a rim structure tread feet therefor, bridges spanning adjacent feet, arranged for engagement with said feet to transmit traction strain thereto, and means for communica-tf and, at its other opposite end, similarly con` .nected with the rim at a point substantially centrally above the foot with which the opposite end'of the bridge coacts.

' '5. In a traction wheel, the combination of a rim structure, tread feet therefor, bridges for spanning between adjacent feet when the latter are emplaced on the supportingsurface, arranged for locking engagement with the foot to hold the latter against displacement in either direction, and means for communicating traction strain to the bridges for communication thereby to the feet, comprising links, each pivotally connected at one end with one end of the bridge, and at 'its opposite -end similarly connected with the rim at a point above the opposite end of the bridge.

6. In a traction wheel, a skeleton rim com- Y'prising parallel annuli, tread feet providing radial guides extending between and guide by said annuli, bridges yfor spanning contiguous feet, links connecting the bridges and rims, for communicating traction strain Y from the "rims tothe bridges, andl locking connections between the bridges and-feet for locking each bridge when emplaced against longitudinal displacement upon said feet.

7. In a traction lwheel, the combination with a rimstructure providing parallel annuli, tread Afeet connected at intervals around said rim structure, pairs of bridges located between the rim and feet, each pair spanning the spaces between two adjacent feet, each bridge comprising a channel iron for receiving-the tread portion of the appropriate annulus, in its passage from foot to foot, 'rimreceiving bosses upon the feet between and in alinement with said bridge members for thrust engagement with the latter, and links,

each pivoted at one' end to a bridge-eXtrem-- ity and at the other end to the rim above the free extremity of said bridge.

8. In a traction wheel, the combination with a rim structure providing a bearing surface, tread feet connected to the rim structure, bridges spanning spaces between adjacent feet for transmitting pressure from the rim to the feet, rim-receiving bosses upon the feet between and in alinement with said bridges for thrust engagement with the latter, links communicating traction strain from the rim to the bridges, each secured for pivotal movement between a bridge-end and the rim at a point above the free end of said 4bridge, and link supporting means on the rim in register with every other foot about said riml structure for permitting such pivotal movement of the links of two adjacent bridges.

9. In a traction wheel, the combination with a rim structure, feet, and bridges interposed between the feet and rim, and links I pivotedl each at one end to a bridge-extremity and at its other end to the rim alining radially with the free extremity of the bridge, the pivotal centers of the links being at a greater radial distance from the wheel center than the tread of the rim.

In testimony whereof I hereunto set my hand in the presence of two witnesses.

SAMUEL M. BOW'ER. In the presence of- W. LINN ALLEN, MARY F. ALLEN, 

